Electronic Grant Payments Transition
We are considering transitioning at least a portion of our grant payments from checks to EFT's.
For those who have converted, please share any tips/lessons learned.
What is your process for collecting bank account information from grantees?
Thanks in advance!
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Thanks for asking this question. We are trying to figure this out, too. Would be very grateful for any advice from the community! 😀
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I'm not sure this is the best way to do it but it's how we do it. I'll be interested to see what others do!!
- We do NOT collect any personal information in Foundant (otherwise I'd make a report form with each field and have them submit it).
- As an agency of the state of Montana we are "strongly encouraged" to use eft so this language isn't very optional... although we can always do a paper check if we need it.
The following text is included in
the email notification (template in Foundant):
Your {{Process.Name}} grant request has been recommended for funding. I am pleased to share that this application has met the criteria and is offered a {{Request.AmountAwarded}} award. The demand for CARES Act relief funding has been great, and MAC is proud that we can be responsive to the needs presented. Please log in to your account at art.mt.gov/application to view your approval letter, contract, and to access the required documents listed below.
MAC requires the following be completed in order to process your award, please complete these steps at your earliest convenience:
- Submit the "CARES Individuals Agreement + Payment Request" form. This is located in the "Follow Ups" section of the User Dashboard at art.mt.gov/application. Detailed instructions for filling out this form are attached.
- Email the Montana Arts Council (mac@mt.gov) with completed and accurate copies of the attached W-9 and 204-EFT forms. Payments must be made to individual applicants; payments cannot be made to LLC's. Financial materials may also be submitted by fax to (406) 444-6548, or by postal mail to Montana Arts Council, PO Box 202201, Helena MT, 59620.
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Thank you, @KristinBurgoyne! This is very helpful. I appreciate that you were willing to share all of the forms you use. I hadn't thought about adding attachments to the Foundant system notification, but that is a great idea.
Thank you!
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We also tried doing it as a link in the email to a form online.... it wasn't as successful... people couldn't access the link correctly and we ended up emailing it out anyway.... The advantage to using an existing link is if "they" update the document you don't have to update your document.
· State of Montana Substitute W-9 form in PDF format at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
· Electronic funds transfer form 204-EFT in PDF format at https://mine.mt.gov/Portals/33/documentation/sabhrs/accounting/Daily_Operations/204%20-%20Electronic%20Funds%20Transfer%20Sign%20Up%202019.pdf?ver=2019-12-20-172352-353
Our next step is to create an annotated "sample" form for reference when filling out the document.
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I'm also curious how bank account information is collected. Our state does not require a special form to be filled out like @KristinBurgoyne has to collect. Does anyone have the grantee submit their bank and routing number on a GLM follow-up form? Do you also have them attach a copy of a canceled check?
Do you collect this information from a grantee every time you cut them a check? Or just ask them to submit if their bank account information has changed? It seems that asking for it every time could be a pain on the grantee, but somehow you need to make sure you still have accurate information.
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Hello all!
We switched to ACH payments last June. We utilize DocuSign to receive banking information electroinically. We do not store any banking information within GLM. On our GLM grant agreement form, we ask for the name and email of the person responsible for providing banking information. Once we receive all the grant agreements, I export an Excel document from GLM into DocuSign which then sends out individual envelopes (banking template) to those banking contacts who complete and submit. *Important to click off "attach documents to completion email" as this would send their complete banking template as PDF back to their email defeating the purpose of encryption. I then export/import their banking details into our banking ACH portal. No information is stored anywhere except DocuSign (which is purged after 15 days) and our banking account. Happy to discuss more details if needed.
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Hi! we email our grant notices and attach an ACH form if they have not already filled one out. The form indicates that it will be used for future grants unless the grantee notifies us of any changes. I've attached a CS template sample grant notice and our pdf fill-in ACH form. So far we are only collecting ACH forms for local grantees and sending checks to less frequent grantees out of our county.
I hope this is helpful.
Missy Belles
Gifts & Grants Administrator
Whatcom Community Foundation
mbelles@whatcomcf.org
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After we have the signed grant agreement, I email the grantee to let them know we prefer processing awards via ACH payments when possible (though they can certainly get a check if they prefer that). I then attach our Direct Deposit Agreement form which they can send back to me with a password (though not everyone does add a password). I may try using Adobe Sign instead for some added protection as that is what we use for the grant agreements. We then just keep the banking info on file within our ACH processing system.
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Thanks all. Are any of you using Foundant's new NATCHA file upload for ACH grants or payments? How's that going? Any tips or suggestions?
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Hi @AmyOwen - There is also a discussion about NACHA here if you’d also like to ask your question or exchange suggestions in that thread!
Kara
Community Manager
Kara Adams, M.Ed., CAE (she/her/hers)|Community Manager|kara.adams@foundant.com
Headquartered: Bozeman, MT| Remote Location: Chicago, IL | Direct: 312-802-1374 |www.foundant.com|
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We are transitioning to electronic signatures and ACH. We have created a follow up which is assigned as grant applications are approved. The Grant Agreement and ACH Authorization form is the included in the follow up. A copy of the follow up is attached here.
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